Bringing renewed attention to a shocking case, Indiana State Police on Monday unveiled an updated sketch of the man they believe killed teens Abigail Williams and Liberty German in Delphi in February 2017.

The sketch shows a smooth-faced man with a narrow nose and thin lips. This face appears much younger than one shown in another sketch of the killer released nearly two years ago.

But this sketch is not new. The sketch released Monday was drawn on Feb. 17, 2017, a few days after the victims' bodies were found. The picture was based on the description of a person who saw something that the person felt needed to be reported, according to the sketch artist.

The new composite drawing released by officials on Monday, April 22 of the person suspected in the Delphi Murders.(Photo: Composite by Indiana State police)

Likewise, video and audio that State Police released to the public Monday had been retrieved two years ago from Libby's phone.

State Police spokesman Sgt. Kim Riley on Tuesday declined to explain why investigators now believe this sketch provides a more accurate representation of the killer. He also refused to say why they held the video and audio until now.

"The investigation, tips and leads have pointed us in a different direction," Riley said.

The girls were dropped off near the Monon High Bridge, just east of Delphi, about 1 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017. A family member went to pick them up at the same spot about an hour later; they weren't there.

speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

The newly released information generated about 1,000 tips in less than 24 hours, State Police said.

The video released Monday shows a man in a blue coat and blue jeans taking a few cautious steps along railroad tracks on the Monon High Bridge. Police released a still image of the same man on the bridge two years ago.

The audio is an extended version of the "down the hill" clip police released days after the girls' bodies were discovered. The voice in the newly released recording says: "guys, down the hill."

Todd Lappin, a retired Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department homicide detective, said holding back information is often key to solving the mystery.

"You want to keep a lot to yourself that only the suspect would know," said Lappin, the chief deputy for the Clinton County Sheriff's Office who retired from IMPD in February.

CLOSE

Video of the suspect not previously released that was extracted from Liberty “Libby” German’s cell phone.
Indiana State Police, Delphi Police

The sketch, Lappin said, likely is the result of looking at the case with fresh eyes. Investigators found something, he said, in all the tips, witness statements and evidence that leads them to favor this image over the other sketch.

What exactly that evidence is, State Police have not said.

Lappin has no ties to the Delphi investigation and said he only knows the facts that have been publicly released.

But like many of us, he has questions.

Are there phone records? Were the girls texting or talking to anyone? What drew them to that trail? Were they planning to meet someone?

Did the man plan to kill them? Did something happened on that trail that prompted him to kill?

Did they know the suspect?

There are so many questions, Lappin said, but the only one that matters is who killed them.

"I feel for the investigators in this," Lappin said. "I'm sure they are frustrated."